@ Hobbes and Rick...
Graffiti,....It is such a "middle of the fence" subject in the hobby. I've had half the audience find it agreeable, if not down right acceptable and I've seen many get themselves in an uncontrollable tizzy about it and go off like Mt.St. Helens in a flaming tirade, condemning it's presence on freight equipment.
I have a severe propensity to want to go into long winded replies on subjects that I declare passionate, but I will earnestly attempt to abbreviate this exchange here.
There was a time , in the infancy of my model weathering, that I declared a personal edict to myself that I would NEVER (and I mean NEVER) adorn ANY of my models with with the likes of said graffiti as we know it contemporarily. I am a product railfan from as far back as the early 1970's and my fondest recollections of those days were the long, Southern Pacific manifests, laboriously crawling their way up the 2.5% grade of the Donner Sub,..every piece of rolling stock free from any "rattle can" exploitations, (save for a few small chalk scribblings that I found and still find amusing). I wanted to refrain from blasting my models with graffiti. In fact I created a motto back then, entitling my work as being executed from " graffiti free G.C."! lol!
It wasn't until a female associate at my wife's place of employment had a look at a few photos I had taken of my models and inquired , "why wasn't I applying large amounts of graffiti to them"? She then, in essence, challenged me to try it! Reluctantly, I accepted her challenge (I know, it takes a woman to convince a man,....right?). I had found that my attempt at a small, colorful little graffiti piece on a plain green BN ACF Centerflow hopper had made a splash, not only with the gal at my wife's work, but many others who viewed it as well. So be it,...my personal pact to myself was broken and disintegrated rapidly as I began to hand paint graffiti on every other model that I was putting out from my workbench.
To this day, I still adhere to producing certain models at intervals that mix with early "non vandalized" model equipment. I find the more flamboyant tags an exhilarating challenge to try and replicate in small scale. But now one might ask what my deep imbedded thoughts are on a controversial subject such as graffiti on contemporary freight equipment? I must be honest and confess that I find it ridiculously overwhelming and has become a viral plague amongst this nations railroads. I see some incredible talent out there in "steel line jungles" or old quiet sidings. True artists blasting some fine painted work with aerosol cans that one might consider "museum quality". Still,...I can't quite wrap my head around the sub culture of these "underground artists" that have spawned and become so popular in this new era "graffiti movement". I cannot undeniably argue it's rightful perspective in modern railroading , domestically or globally. I uphold my views while understanding and respecting the FACT that it is criminal vandalism. I don't condemn it however, but in the same breath,..I don't condone it either. I just think it has historically cemented it's place now and it has made such rampant forward progress, I cannot see how some of the larger roads would be able tame it, while I am also seeing many railroads coping with it by raising the reporting marks on equipment higher up the car bodies and out of reach of the rattle can. I personally think seeing a long train rolling by at track speed with nearly every car completely plastered with graffiti is somewhat repulsive..but then,...as I aforementioned...I am a product of the early days of graffiti free American railroading and I'm just biased to that opinion.
It is part of railroading these days and I am merely compulsive to accept such challenges as replicating it in small scale to the best of my ability.
There , how was that for an abbreviated early Saturday morning recital? 
...I didn't quite make that short now did I?
Thank you both (Hobbes and Rick) for your positive feedback on the model that I posted.
MIKE C (Down under): Nary have I seen a photo from you that fails to spark a reaction with me. You continuously amaze me with your perspective shots on your layout and tend to leave me a bit baffled on the thought of "how does he accomplish such well lit flicks"?..and your layout itself provokes some really intense reaction with me as well. You have a TRUE talent for the craft Mike...keep it up and keep the photos coming my friend!
JURG: Much thanks brother!
Gary Christensen
